By Chris Story

Last updated 05:37, Friday, 25 July 2008

ABANDONED gardens at historic Lowther Castle are to be opened to the public for the first time in 70 years.

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Impressive: The rose garden at Lowther Castle

Visitors to Lowther Show next month will be offered tours of the 120-acre grounds during what will be their first public opening since 1938 – and only the second in their history.

The move comes as a new charitable trust works to secure the half-demolished castle’s future, with the aim of transforming it into a visitor attraction.

Tractor-trains will ferry people from the showground to the castle for free on Sunday, August 10.

And organisers are expecting huge public interest with the landmark featuring more than a dozen Edwardian gardens at the back.

Although overgrown following decades of neglect, a number of historic structures and ornate rockeries can still be seen beneath the moss and trees.

Visitors will be able to follow a simple route through the gardens and around the castle, but numbers will be limited because of the gardens being overgrown and the castle’s crumbling state.

David Horton-Fawkes, project director of the Lowther Castle and Gardens Trust, said: “This is a one-off opportunity to see our plans for the castle's gardens.

The longer term plan is to open them as much as possible, so this is just a start.

“We will obviously have to limit the numbers because of the eco-system and condition of the gardens,” added Mr Horton-Fawkes.

“The castle remains a very fragile structure and is out of bounds for safety reasons, although we hope to reopen part of that in the future.”

Other trustees of the charitable group, trying to raise money to keep the historic building standing, include Cumbrian peer Lord Bragg of Wigton and former English Heritage chairman Sir Neil Cossons.

They hope to open the castle and gardens to the public permanently, opening up the central tower, and establishing shopping and eating facilities in the stables.

The scheme is in place of a £76 million restoration package which was dropped after failing to secure funding three years ago.

Lowther Show, which is expected to attract 60,000 visitors, takes place over three days between August 8 and 10.

Chairman and director Robert Benson said: “The tractor-trains will run from 10am all day on Saturday, carrying up to 40 people at a time on the short trip of about half-a-kilometre to the castle.

“There will be food and drink facilities as well as toilets near the castle, because we expect a lot of people to take advantage of this special opportunity.”

Other attractions will include French equine showman Jean Francois Pignon, a food hall, shopping village, country fair, and horse driving trials, with show patron the Duke of Edinburgh due among the crowd.

Lowther Castle is the third major building to have stood on the imposing estate between Penrith and Shap. Designed by Sir Robert Smirke for the 5th Earl of Lonsdale Hugh Lowther, it was completed in 1816 but records show there was a settlement there more than 1,000 years ago.

It was taken over by the Army during World War Two and used for training on a weapons project.

The Lowther family decided to demolish the building in 1955, having explored all their options.

Lowther Castle is on a list of English Heritage’s “at risk” buildings and recently formed the backdrop of a campaign to highlight structures in jeopardy.